


Somewhere in the Desert

by Unused_dishes



Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: Angst, Cecil Is a Good Boyfriend, Fluff, M/M, Meet the Family, Typical Night Vale Weirdness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-26
Updated: 2019-07-30
Packaged: 2020-05-19 23:25:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19365823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Unused_dishes/pseuds/Unused_dishes
Summary: Why did their car break down just outside this town? Why does the man on the radio know their names? What is this terrible, foreboding feeling that looms over this strange town?Maria and Diego Sanchez just wanted to visit their children in Texas, but they will get a whole lot more than that when the stumble into Night Vale.





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic ever, so if you want to take a minute to give me some feedback on how I could improve, it would be much appreciated!

The old car hummed down the highway. The sun beat down on the road, its light bouncing off the sand and making everything seem bright and transparent. But still, the car hummed along. It was peaceful. The only disturbance seemed to come from the bickering emanating from inside the car itself.  
"Are you sure this is the right way?" Diego Sanchez asked for the tenth time in the last thirty minutes.   
"Diego, querido," replied Maria, his wife. "Yes. Yes I am sure. It's the same way we have taken every time we have visited our children. We must have gotten turned around at the bridge back there, I don’t remember driving over it before. We’ll just turn around and go back,”  
The Sanchez’s were on their way to visit their children and grandchildren in El Paso, Texas. But only a few hours in, and they were already hopelessly lost.  
Diego turned the map over in his hands. “Are you sure its the bridge? I can’t even find us on the map,”  
“Yes, I’m positive. Now please, could you-”  
The car jerked to a halt. It wasn’t dramatic, it was as if she had simply hit the breaks. But when she tried to start it again, the car wouldn’t budge.  
“Por favor,” moaned Maria. “Of all times,”   
She slammed her hand onto the console, then opened her door to get out. She stood still for a moment, before her eyes snapped up and focused on something on the horizon.  
“Look. A town.”  
He hadn’t seen it at first, but after she pointed it out, Diego wondered how he could have missed it. It was a town, very clearly visible on the horizon. It wouldn’t take more than an hour to get there.  
“Well,” He said. “I suppose we should walk over and find a mechanic,”

The closer they trudged towards the town, the odder the environment became. The sun seemed to be setting, although it should have been mid afternoon. Everything around them seemed more vibrant, more solid, than it should. Every so often, one of them would jerk their head up, sure there was someone right behind them, only to find a small bird, or beetle.  
By the time they walked in to town, it was almost dark. The sunset seemed to grate against the sky, screeching in a way neither was sure was real or imagined. It left goosebumps on both Maria and Diego's arms, and a strange, tense feeling in the air.  
In fact, there was a strange feeling about the whole town. It was as ominous and strange as any new place at night, but there was something else in the air. An oppressive feeling of deja vu, of dread, of nostalgia. It was faint, but also somehow overpowering. Maria and Diego exchanged a glance. Something was very off in this town.   
A car was parked on the side of the road, windows rolled down. Its radio played softly, despite its occupants being nowhere around. The couple paused, briefly, to listen to the alluring voice.  
"Alligators make terrible ballerinas. Welcome to Night Vale,"

\-----_____-----_____---------_____------______---------___

Carlos had had a long day at the lab. Three birds had exploded in his hands, and two more in their cages. Three of his co-workers had called in sick with a strange case of infectious yellow spots, and there had been a day long coffee ban in affect. He was excited to go home and do nothing for a few hours.  
On the way home, Carlos turned on the radio in his beat up old car. His husbands voice filled the car, and he relaxed in his seat.  
"Listeners, this is new. There seems to be a couple in town, and they are-”  
A large group of angels flew directly over the car, blocking out the show for a moment.  
"-Isn’t that something? More on them, but first, traffic,"  
Carlos quickly relaxed back into the sound of his voice, and by the time the weather came around, he was stepping into their home. He turned on the lights, and went into the kitchen to find a snack to eat while he listened to the rest of Cecil's show.  
It didn't take very long before there was a knock on the door.  
"Coming," Carlos called, slowly standing up and heading down the hall. It was probably an Erika asking for money, but who knows? Maybe Cecil had invited his sister over for dinner again.  
It was neither. Behind the door was an elderly couple.


	2. Chapter 2

When the man on the radio introduced the town, Night Vale, a memory was forced from Maria's head. A young man, his face blurry, standing in the doorway of her house. He was excited, and she was to. But why? Who was he? She shared a look with her husband. There was something unreadable and terrifying on his face.  
Diego pulled her away from the car, and they continued down the street. Maria couldn’t say exactly when, but at some point they turned down a new street and were in a neighborhood. They walked down the streets silently, no longer fully concerned with finding a mechanic.  
As they walked, more vague memories popped up. A young boy playing in a puddle. A teenager crying in her arms. An infant, babbling softly at her.   
"Maria mi amor," said Diego, stopping and turning to face her. "What are our children's names?" It was a strange question, but she understood. She had a strong, undeniable feeling that they were forgetting something very important.  
"Rosa. Pablo. Rosa and Pablo. And-" she gasped, the memories stuck in the back of her mind rushing forwards. "And Carlos!"  
Beside her, Diego had gone ghost pale, looking more terrified than she had ever seen him before.  
“Carlos!” She said, voice hushed and afraid and perplexed. “Our son, Carlos. How- How the hell-”  
“What is going on,” Diego demanded. “How the hell do- how did we, oh qué pasó que no recordamos nuestro hijo?”  
Maria felt a tear run down her cheek. Her mind raced. How had we all forgotten him? What had happened to him? And more importantly, why are we suddenly remembering?  
“I remember something!” Shouted Diego. “I remember him leaving for this town, Night Vale. He was studying...something. That means that he could still be here!”  
“We need to find him. We need to find someone who knows this town,”  
They turned back out toward the sidewalk, still empty of all people. Finding people in this town seemed a whole lot easier said than done. They would have thought it was a ghost town if it hadn’t been for the radio in the car, and the occasional lights in a home.  
“Hello?”  
Maria turned around to see a young girl in a wheelchair. She was sitting on her porch, the door open behind her.  
“Uh, hello,” replied Diego.  
“I can take you to see Carlos, if you want,” She said, as though they had discussed it before.   
“What? How do you know we want to find him?”  
“My Uncle Cecil just called me to say you were outside, and that I should at least give you directions,”  
Maria made a face. “Who is he, And how does he know where we are? Or who we are?”  
“Oh, Uncle Cecil knows everything that goes on in town,” She said, with complete seriousness.  
Diego looked at Maria, who still looked very suspicious, then turned back to the girl. “What's your name?” He asked, gently.  
She smiled. “Janice,”  
“Well, Janice, would you take us to see our son?”  
“Gladly,”   
She wheeled herself quickly down a ramp at the side of the porch, then out onto the sidewalk.   
“Coming?” She asked, than wheeled on ahead of them, down the street in the opposite direction they had been heading.  
“Diego,” Maria whispered. “Are you sure we can trust her?”  
Diego pulled her along, following Janice. “Not at all. But I do think that she’s our best chance at finding Carlos,”  
“Shouldn’t she be with her parents? She looks to young to take us, complete strangers, around town,”

Diego sighed. “Maybe it's a good town,”  
“Diego, cariño, nothing about this town seems particularly good,”  
He couldn’t really argue. But he also couldn’t give up a chance to see his son.  
“Lets just try, ok? What could go wrong,”  
“Oh don’t you say that, Diego. What couldn't go wrong? I don’t like this town, not one bit,” Maria shook her head, and picked up her pace to keep up with Janice. “And her uncle? The man who could ‘see everything in town’? Creepy. I don’t like it,”   
They walked in silence for a while. The town looked pretty normal, actually, and it seemed to have come alive since they began following Janice. They turned onto a main road, and the streets where suddenly brightly lit, and people walked the sidewalks. Some highschoolers waved at Janice, staring curiously at the couple walking just behind her. Maria would have ignored them, had one of the kids not had three eyes and slightly green skin. When she turned to Diego, he just shrugged.  
They turned again into a neighborhood. The houses looked normal, but every other one glowed a very faint blue. Finally, Janice stopped in front of one of the non-glowing ones.  
“This is it. Uncle Carlos should be home by now, so that won’t be a problem at all,”  
It took Maria a moment to process what Janice had said. “He's your uncle?”   
“Yeah, didn’t I say?” She looked concerned for a moment, then went right back to smiling. “I must have forgot. He is my uncle. And a good one, to. He comes to a lot of my basketball games. And he lets me watch some of the experiments in his lab,”  
“Oh,” said Diego. He turned toward the house. The porch light was on, and the window next to the door was open. “He really has a life here,”  
Maria looked at Janice. “Thank you, for taking us to him,”  
“No problem, If you need anything, You know where to find me,” And she was off down the street.  
Diego laughed, suddenly. “I couldn’t find her house again if it was life or death,”  
Maria smiled, then took a deep breath. She grabbed her husband’s hand, and started toward the door.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long, its been a busy week.

They knocked, and a few seconds later, Carlos opened the door.

He stood there for a moment, framed by the doorway. His hair had gotten longer, and he had grown a beard. He looked older. There were gray patches in his hair. 

His face went from blank to very, very surprised in the half a second it took for him to realise who was at the door. “Oh,”

Diego swallowed, “Its, well, its us,”

“I- oh my- I remember- I- what the hell,”

Maria stepped forward, dropping Diego’s hand and enveloping Carlos in a tight hug. For a second, he was too surprised to reciprocate.

Then Diego joined in, and Carlos clung tightly to both of them. They stood like that for a moment, before pulling away. Maria had tears in her eyes.

“How? How did you find me? How did you remember?” Carlos asked, wiping tears from his own eyes.

“How did we forget?” Asked Diego, not really expecting an answer.

“Its the town, dad. Its a weird place,” Carlos almost laughed. “Come in! Please come in and we can figure out how long its been!”

Diego and Maria stepped in to the house. It was cooler than outside, and clean. Not perfectly tidy, but clean. Carlos led them into a sitting room, with old, worn couches and a low table. 

“Why don’t you start,” Carlos said, sitting down. “I think it might be easier that way,”

“Alright,” Maria agreed. “The last time we saw you was almost seven years ago. I, well, I don’t really remember thinking about you, after that,” 

Diego held her hand, and nodded his agreement.

“Why were you coming here? Were you looking for something, or going somewhere? Where do you last remember being?” Carlos questioned. He leaned in closer to his parents.

“We were going to see your siblings, and-”

Diego was cut off by the sound of the front door opening. 

“Carlos, I’m home,” Came a smooth, deep voice. “Are your parents here?” 

“Who’s that?” Maria asked.

Carlos suddenly looked very worried. “Cecil. He’s...he’s my…” He stood up abruptly. “I’ll be right back,” 

And he disappeared back toward the door.

“What's that about?” Diego muttered, quiet enough that Maria had to lean in to hear him.

“I don’t know,” she said. “But I think that Carlos has a lot to tell us,” She frowned, then turned her eyes to the room. There were pictures covering the left wall, some groups and some just one person. She stood, studying them. 

There was a picture of Janice, smiling huge and wearing a basketball jersey. Next to it, an elderly woman surrounded by what appeared to be actual angels. A group photo, a few down, of Carlos and a group of scientists. A man stood in another, gently cradling a strange cat. 

One picture caught her attention. It was the man from the cat picture, standing next to Carlos. He wore an elegant, colourful outfit, and he smiled like he had never been happy before the moment the picture was taken. Carlos wasn’t looking at the camera. He was looking at the man, smiling carefully, and with such love it was clear he was staring at his soulmate. 

“Mom, Dad?” Carlos said, hesitantly. He walked back into the room, a man trailing behind him. It was the man from the picture. “I have someone to introduce you to,”

He looked back at the man, who smiled gently at him. “This is Cecil. My husband,”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Its been a long time, so sorry about that. But the last chapter is finally here!

“Hello,” Cecil greeted. He held out a hand toward Diego and Maria.

Maria gasped. “Husband?” at the same time that Diego cried “You’re married?” 

“Yes,” Carlos said. He and Cecil took a seat across from them. “A lot has happened since I came to Night Vale,”

“I’ll say,” Diego agreed. He reached over the table and firmly shook Cecil's hand. “I’m Diego, and this is Maria,” 

Maria shook his hand, then turned toward Carlos. 

“Its not that I don’t trust you querido, but well…” She stood, walked around the table to tower over Cecil, and put on her best mom face. “What makes you good for Carlos?”

Cecil was not expecting an interrogation, and looked quite at a loss for words. An uncommon thing for the Voice of Night Vale. There was a moment of tense silence, Maria staring him down and Cecil, very intimidated, floundering for words, before Carlos started to laugh.  
It was a deep, relieved laugh, and it filled up the room. 

“I’m sorry,” He said to Maria. “It’s just, well, I never really ‘came out’, you know? And I was really worried that you’d take it badly, or be rude to Cecil. But you’re just treating him like one of Rosa’s boyfriends on their first date,” 

Maria looked sad. “Your father and I will always love you, Carlos. Who you love, who you marry, it doesn’t matter to us. As long as they are treating you right,”

Diego smiled from across the table. “Well, as parents, it is our job to make sure you’re happy, and that you’re not dating anyone who's going to hurt you,”

Carlos smiled, and took Cecil's hand. “I think we’d better explain whats going on in this town then,”

Carlos told them about Night Vale, and about his time in it. He started on the day he arrived in town, and went through every event, every strange occurrence, since. When he got to the day he was almost killed by the tiny army, he paused for a moment. 

“That was the last time I really remember thinking of you while in Night Vale,”

There was silence for a moment, before he continued. He told them about Cecil, and their first date, and he talked about their relationship. Cecil added in small details every so often. 

“We got married a few years ago. We have been… unbelievably happy,” Carlos sounded so sure, so happy, Maria beamed at them from across the table. 

Carlos moved on to other things. He talked about Janice, who really was his niece. He talked about Old Woman Josie and the angels. He talked for maybe an hour, maybe twelve. No one bothered to count.

“You really have a life here,”

“Yes,”

Diego sighed. “We missed so much, but so much of our lives have changed to,”

Carlos quirked an eyebrow. “Like what?”

So Maria and Diego began to fill in their own lives. Since Carlos had been gone, his sister had gotten married and had two kids. She was almost finished med school. His brother had become a successful lawyer and had a third child on the way. They had both moved to El Paso, and they visited his parents as often as they could.   
“They’re really doing great. We all are,” Diego concluded. “But what do we do now? How will we explain this, that they have a brother we have all forgotten? That we’re late getting there because we broke down in a town that shouldn’t exist? Speaking of which, we still need to find a mechanic,” 

Cecil spoke up. “Stay in Night Vale for a day or two. We can show you around, introduce you to the town. And hopefully, you won’t forget when you continue on. Night Vale, well, its a strange place. No one can really predict what will happen when you leave. Maybe you won’t remember you were even here. You can’t spend to much time worrying about it. As for your car, I can call someone to have a look at it right now,”

“Please stay for awhile. We’ve got a guest room, and we really need more time to catch up on everything. I actually learned to cook, if that makes any difference,” Carlos said.

Maria looked at Diego. “Of course we’ll stay. We have to,” She smiled. “And we want to know about your life here,”

“Its settled than. Cecil, could you get the spare sheets? I’m gonna put a pot of tea on,”

“Grab the box of photos too, honey,” Cecil replied. “We have lots of things to share,”


End file.
